Coupling



Feb. 13, 1940. E. M. PFAUSER COUPLING Filed Jan. 22, 1938 AT TORNEYQPatented Feb. 13, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COUPLING Edward M.Pfauser, Elm Grove, Wis., assignor to Blackhawk Mfg. 00., Milwaukee,Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application January 22, 1938, SerialNo. 186,288

2 Claims.

My present invention relates generally to improvements in couplingassemblages, and relates more specifically to improvements in theconstruction of detachable couplings especially 5 adapted for attachmentof a tool such as a wrench socket to a manipulating or driving member.

Generally defined, an object of this invention is to provide an improvedcoupling which is simple, compact and durable in construction, and

which is also highly effective in use. i

i It has heretofore been proposed, as shown and described in my priorPatent No. 1,927,844,

granted September 26, 1933, to provide a detachable coupling for socketwrenches or the like,

comprising a spring pressed plunger slidably confined within a recess inthe shank or driving member and cooperating with a transverse open- Iing in the wrench socket or driven member. As shown and described in myprior reissue Patent No. Re. 19,287, granted August 2, 1934, it has alsobeen proposed to provide a manually manipulable releasing button orplunger in the transverse opening of the wrench socket for effectingdetachment of the coupling, and while both of these prior features haveproven highly satisfactory and successful in actual commercial use, theassemblages have been rather diflicult to manufacture and assemble,especially in the smaller sizes, primarily becauseof the method used toconfine the locking and release elements in place. In these priorassemblages, it has been customary to retain the locking and releaseelements or plungers within their confining recesses 1 or openings, byproviding enlarged portions on i the plungers and by peening the metalof the shank and socket over these enlarged plunger portions so as toprovide plunger retaining abutments. If the plungers are assembledbefore w l heat treatment of the parts, the plunger actuating springsare detrimentally afiected by the heat treatment, and scale will alsoform in the relatively inaccessible plunger confining pockets and willthus interfere with operation of the locking and release mechanism. Ifthese plungers are assembled after the drive shank and wrench sockethave been heat treated, it becomes difl'icult to peen the hardened metalwithout chipping or marring unless the heat treatment is undesir- FHably restricted; but such application of the spring and plungers afterheat treating, is most desirable because these parts are then unaffectedby the heat treatment, sand blasting and plating, and the carriermembers may be more readily cleaned and polished. y

It is therefore a more specific object of my present invention toprovide an improved coupling assemblage of the abovedescribed generaltype, wherein the spring and plungers may be most conveniently appliedwithin their confining recesses, after heat treatment of the confiningparts or members has been effected.

Another specific object of my invention is the provision of an improveddetachable coupling assemblage which is applicable to driving and I0 insocketed members having minimum external diameter, thus not only makingit possible to use such tools in close quarters but also saving materialin the manufacture of the sockets.

An additional specific object of my invention is to provide a springpressed locking assemblage for couplings or the like, which can beconven- B0 iently assembled, or dismantledfor replacement of the springand plungers, and which may be applied after the carrier members havebeen completely finished.

These and other specific objects and adVan. tages will be apparent fromthe following detailed description.

A clear conception of an embodiment of the invention, and of the mode ofconstructing and of utilizing couplings manufactured in accordance withthe improvementmay be had by referring to the drawing accompanying andforming a part of this specification wherein like reference charactersdesignate the same parts in the various views. 1

Fig. 1 is a central longitudinal section through a wrench socket and a.fragment of a driving shank, showing theseparts coupled and locked,

together with the aid of one of my improved, coupling assemblages, andthe section being a, three-fold enlargement of the particular commercialdevice from which it was reproduced;

Fig. 2 is a similar section through the same assemblage, showing therelease plunger depressed preparatory to removal of the socket from theshank;

Fig. 3 is another similar section through the assemblage, showing therelease plunger still depressed and the socket slipped partially off theshank;

Fig. 4 is still another similar section through the assemblage, showingthe socket moved outwardly a distance sufficient to partially releasethe locking plunger;

Fig. 5 is an end View of the wrench socket alone, looking into thedriving end thereof;

Fig. 6 is an opposite end view of the wrench socket; V

Fig. 7 is a transverse section'through the assemblage, taken along theline T-l of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section through a modified coupling assemblage.

While the invention has been shown herein as being applied to partsdrawn to a relatively large scale in order to clearly illustrate theconstruction, it will be understood that in actual practice these partsmay be either larger or much smaller in dimensions. than shown, and hasactually been embodied in very small and compact assemblages. Although Ihave shown the invention herein. as being especially applicable tocouplings for connecting a wrench socket to a driving shank of polygonalformation, it is not the intention to thereby unnecessarily restrict thescope.

Referring to Figs. 1 to '7 inclusive of the drawing, the improvedcoupling assemblage shown therein comprises in general, a shank member 9having a square shank ill at its extreme end. and an abutment flange Hat the inner end of the shank Ill, the shank being provided between itsends with a recess l2 the central axis of which is disposed at anoblique angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the member 9'; asocket member l3 having at one end a wrench socket [4 formed forcoaction with polygonal or serrated nuts and bolt heads, and having itsopposite end provided with a square socket l5 formed for free receptionof the shank l0 and provided with a transverse bore or through openingI6 the central axis of which extends approximately perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the member i3; a locking element or plunger llhaving an enlarged hollow inner portion 58 slidable within the recessl2, and a reduced solid outer portion movable outwardly beyond thebounding surface of the shank ill and into the opening it by means of ahelical compression spring I9 confined within the recess l2 and plungerportion [8; a release button or plunger 2!! having inner and outerportions of substantially the same diameter separated by a flange 21,the inner portion 22 being slidable in the opening it toward and awayfrom the solid outer portion of the locking plunger l7; and retainingbushings or collars 23, M for maintaining the plungers I1, 26 in theirrespective confining cavities.

While the shank iii of the member 9 and the socket 15 of the member l3are shown as being square in cross-section, these interfitting parts mayobviously be of any other polygonal or interlocking formation, and arenormally adapted to transmit motion from one member to the other. Theend of the socket member adjoining the socket i5, may be provided with achamfer 25 for depressing the locking plunger H as shown in Fig. 4 whenthe socket member I3 is being applied to the shank it of the member 9,but this chamfer is not essential and may be omitted. When the members9,- l3 have been coupled together, the socket member I3 is movable to aslight extent along the shank I!) so as to insure a contact between thechamfered end of the member l3 and the flange I l as illustrated inFig. 1. The bushings or collars 23, 24 may be of like construction andformed of sheet metal, and each of these collars has an annular inwardlyprojecting integral flange 26. The interior of the collar 23 may havethe same. diameter as the reoess I2 and the flange 26 of this collar 23is cooperable with the abutment formed by the enlarged plunger portionE8 of the locking plunger I! to limit the outward motion of thisplunger. The interior of the collar 24 is of slightly larger diameterthan the flange 2i of the releasing plunger and the flange 26 of thiscollar 24 is cooperable with the flange 2| so as to limit the outwardmovement of the plunger 20, while the abutment formed by the reducedbore l6 limits the inward motion of this plunger. The sleeve collars 23,2d are press fitted within their receiving bores in the members 9, l3,respectively, and thus enable application of the spring 19 and plungersll, 29 after they members 9,13 have been finally heat treated andfinished. Referring to the modified coupling assemblag shown in Fig. 8,this assemblage again comprises in general a shank member 9 having asquare shank Ill and a flange l I adjoining the shank Ill, this shankhaving an inclined recess t2 of uniform diameter throughout its, depth;a socket member 93 provided with a square socket l5 formed for freereception of the shank Ill and being provided with a transversebore iiiof uni' form diameter extending substantially perpendicular to the axisof the member It; a hollow locking element or plunger ll having anenlarged external flange l8 and being movable outwardly by means of acompression spring W; a release element or plunger 2% having an enlargedexternal flange 2!; and retaining bushings. or coll'ars 23, 24 withinwhich the flanges 18, 2| are slidable. In this modified assemblage, thechamfer has been omitted, and the plunger retaining collars 23, 2d areprovided with inwardly projecting'fianges 26 at both. ends thereof as byspinning or otherwise distorting. theseends. The plungers ll, 2!] of themodified form are axially slidable directly within their confiningcollars 23, 2d and the flanges I8, 2| are cooperable with the oppositeend flanges 25 of these collars, respectively, to limit the travel ormovement of the plungers. In this modified construction, the recess l2and opening or bore it may be formed by a simple drilling operation andmay be more readily cleaned after the heat treatment has been Ieffected. The collars 23, 24 may be pressed into the recess l2 and borel6, and the modified structure may be assembled ordismantled, andfunctions precisely the same as the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to '7inclusive.

When manufacturing the improved. couplings of both embodiments, themembers 9, 13 are first machined, heat treated, sand blasted and platedor polished, before the plungers ll, 20 are applied thereto. By thusfinishing these members before application of the plungers they may beproperly heat treated and the recess l2 and opening it may be thoroughlycleaned preparatory to application of the plungers. The springv l9,locking plunger ll, and collar 23 may then be inserted within the recess!2-, the retaining collar 23 being pressed within its receiving bore soas to maintain the locking plunger assemblagev in place. The spring l9will then tend to force the operation enables reduction of the shank illto l 5 may be applied to the shank I0 and the member l3 may be slippedrearwardly toward the flange H on the member ll). As the chamfer 25engages the projecting plunger I! andthe rearward movement of the socketmember I3 is continued, the plunger ll will be forced inwardly asindicated in Fig. 4. Continued inward movement of the member l3 willcause the plunger I! to remain in the position shown in Fig. 3 until theplunger ll reaches the opening l6, whereupon the spring l2 will becomeeffective to move the plunger I! and the plunger 20 outwardly into theposition shown in Fig. 1; The members 9, l3 will then be ,lockedtogether and rotary motion may be imparted from the driving member 9 tothe socket member l3 in any suitable manner.

In order to release the lock, it is only necessary to manually press theplunger 20 inwardly to the position shown in Fig. 2 so as to push thelocking plunger ll out of the opening l6. The sleeve l3 may then bepulled outwardly as shown in Fig. 3 and may be subsequently pulledoutwardly to a greater extent so as to gradually release the lockingplunger I! as indicated in Fig. 4. It will thus be noted that theimproved locking mechanism may be utilized to automatically lock themembers 9, l3 together, and may be quickly released to unlock thesemembers by merely pressing the release plunger 20.

From the foregoing descriptionit will be apparent that the provision oflocking and release plungers which may be applied to the couplingmembers afterheat treatment and final finishing thereof, facilitatesmanufacture of the assemblage and enables more perfect heat treatment ofthe driving and'driven members. This application of the plungers afterheat treatment of the coupling members also permits more effective,finishing of the members by sand blasting, buffing or plating, withoutinterference by the locking and release plungers. The use of theretain-' ing collars Z3, 24 also insures production, of a neaterfinalasseniblage and permits application of these locking and releaseplungers to small shank and-socket members than was heretofore possible.The collars 23, 24' while being driven into their retaining bores, mayif necessary be removed to permit replacement of the plungers ll, 20 andof the spring I9. The collars 23, 24 may obviously be formed either asshown in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, or as shown in Fig. 8, or in any othermanner which will accomplish the same results; and the improvement willobviously permit reduction of the diameter of the rear portion of thesocket member l3 to a minimum by virtue of the fact that obviation ofthe prior peening minimum cross-section. As previously indicated,

the chamfer 25 is not essential, and the locking I plunger I! mayobviously be modified in shape and may even be replaced by a ball lock.The

assemblage has proven highly practical and successful in actualcommercial use, andthe locking elements may be applied at moderate cost.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this inventionto the exact details of construction or to the precise mode of operationherein shown and described, for various modifications within the scopeof theclaims may occur to persons skilled in the art;

I claim:

1. In a device comprising an outer member having an opening, aninnermember movable longitudinally within said opening, one of said membershaving a transverse bore and the other having a recess alineable withthe open end of said bore, and a .detent plunger slidable in said boreand being engageable with said recess to hold said members assembled;the improvement comprising the formation of said bore with enlargeddiameter at its. end adjacent said recess,

the formation of said detent plunger with large and small diametersseparated by an abutment and with the portion of larger "diameterslidably coacting with said bore portion of smallest diameter while theportion of smallest diameter. is cooperable with said recess to latchthe members together, and a guiding and retaining collar, for

the plunger snugly fitted within said bore portion of larger diameterand havingan inner diameter approximately equal to and alineable withthe bore portion of smallest diameter so as to also slidably coact'withsaid plunger portion of largest diameter, said collar having aninwardlyprojecting integral flange at its outer end with which saidplunger portion of smallest diameter is constantly slidably cooperableand whichflange is engageable with said abutment to limit the outwardmovement of the plunger. i l

- 2. In a device comprising an outermember having an opening, an innermember movable longitudinally within said; opening, saidmembers havingalineable transverse recesses, a detent element slidable in one of saidrecesses and being 'cooperable with the other to latch said membersassembled, and a release button element slidable in the other ,of saidrecesses j and being cooper-able with said detent element to release thelatch; the improvement comprising the formation of one of said recesseswith a portion of enlarged diameter, the formation of the slidableelement therein with large and small diameters separated byanabutment,xand a guiding and retaining collar for said element snuglyfitted within said recess portion .of larger diameter and slidably,embracing said elementiportion of largest diameter, said collar havingan inwardly projecting integral end flange with which said elementportionof smallest diameter is constantly slidably cooperable and whichflange is engageable with said abutmentto limit the movement of saidelement.

, EDWARD M. PFAUSER.

